Current projection systems require that the illumination of the spatial light modulator (SLM) be uniform over the entire SLM imaging surface. In other words, the amount of light received by each pixel of the SLM is required by these systems to be generally equal, such that illumination of the brightest areas is limited by the overall illumination of the SLM mirrors. This can result in an image that is not a true representation of the original or desired image, particularly if that original or desired image constitutes an image having high dynamic range.